


No Excuses

by goldarrow



Series: Dragon!ARC [3]
Category: Primeval
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 07:31:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20385997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldarrow/pseuds/goldarrow
Summary: Abby disobeys orders.





	No Excuses

**Author's Note:**

> Pre Abby/Stringer; Lyle and Stringer belong to Fredbassett.
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything recognisable as from Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. I just borrow them for fun. I shall return them, slightly mussed but in superb spirits, once I’m done with them.
> 
> Originally written for the Dreamwidth Fandom Stocking, for fififolle.

No Excuse

Joel Stringer spun around quickly at Abby's call. He saw the young animal expert start forward, her eyes suddenly flashing bronze. The captain snarled a few choice curses as she Shifted into her dragon form without warning, beating into the Jurassic air, away from the group.

Stringer stared in the direction she'd taken as Ryan stepped up beside him.

"What the fuck does she think she's doing?" Ryan was almost raging – or at least as close to losing control as the Silver-clan captain ever did.

Stringer snorted. "She's a bronze and she's seen one of those ankyl-fuckers on its back. Looks like she's fucked off to help it."

"Damn it. There's a reason we have the order not to fly when we're running around where dinosaurs could take exception to us." Ryan's eyes flashed silver for a moment.

That was interesting. Stringer divided his attention between the bronze dragon gliding toward the helpless dinosaur and the other captain beside him. After a couple of seconds, Ryan managed to control himself, so Stringer turned his attention back to Abby. He had to admit that she made a beautiful sight. She was lovely enough as a woman, but her dragon form was exquisite, even more graceful than most as she caught the air currents and then back-winged to land beside the stranded creature.

"Fucking hell." Stringer shrugged out of his harness, ignoring his fellow captain's demand for information. "Look right," was all he managed to get out before he ran forward, Shifted, and took off toward Abby as she was attempting to tip the creature back onto its feet, battling its automatic fighting reaction to suddenly being manhandled by a dragon. As he beat his wings hard to get up enough speed to arrive in time, he could hear Ryan cursing as well.

Stringer sent his thoughts to Abby. :_Stay low. There's a carnivore heading your way. I have it_:

Abby's head jerked up as she automatically searched for the predator. :_I'm almost done_: she sent back.

:_Not quick enough_: Stringer added a sense of fury to his thought as he landed between her and the carnivorous dinosaur heading toward them at speed. Keeping part of his attention on Abby as she managed to get the creature almost onto its front again, he knew that he was going to have to warn off the predator. One deep breath and he was ready. When the predator – an Allosaurus, if he remembered the lectures correctly – was just out of range, he sent a blast of flame directly toward it.

The creature roared, slightly singed, and turned to circle them, obviously hoping to get to them from behind. It didn't succeed. Suddenly there were three dragons, bronze Stringer, and silver Ryan and Lyle in a protective circle around Abby, holding the Allosaurus at bay as she finally managed to heave the two-metre long creature onto its feet.

The soldiers backed away to let the Ankylosaur trundle its way rapidly into the underbrush as Stringer gave one last long blast of flame toward the Allosaurus, which finally decided that it might actually be easier to find another meal elsewhere. The predator roared its fury as it turned and lumbered away, in its anger having lost the fluid grace with which it had originally attacked.

The four dragons Shifted back to their human forms as the rest of the team gathered around them. The soldiers redonned their weapon harnesses as Abby set herself, crossing her arms over her chest in what seemed to be a defensive move, but to Stringer's educated eye was more likely simply the first step in a battle of stubbornness.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to take off on your own?"

To Stringer, Ryan's tone was a warning not to stand up to him. To Abby, it seemed to be nothing special. The bronze captain's eyes narrowed. There was something familiar about the way the young woman was holding herself. He almost had it, but was distracted by Abby's response.

"He needed help," she said stolidly. "If I hadn't helped him, the Allosaurus would have killed him."

"Better him than you!" Ryan blasted back, as angry as the silver captain ever allowed himself to show.

Abby smiled confidingly. "I knew you were there. You wouldn't let anything happen to me." She looked around. "None of you. You do what you need to do to protect us, and we do what we need to do to help the creatures."

That was interesting. Stringer found himself drawn to the other bronze in a way he hadn't been drawn in years. She was so small, so graceful, but so strong and opinionated along with it. He'd thought that she'd gone 'over-emotional bronze', but I seemed she hadn't. She'd made a bald calculation of danger cold-bloodedly enough for a silver to have been proud of.

Seeing that the silver captain was rendered speechless, Stringer stepped forward. "You have a point, Ms Maitland, but if you wouldn’t mind, we would much prefer it if you'd give a little more warning before you bugger off on a rescue mission."

Abby blushed a little as she turned to stare at him. "Um, okay," she managed to say, her blush deepening at his admiring expression.

Ryan shook his head at the two of them. Turning away, he tossed the words over his shoulder. "Just ask her out, for fuck's sake."

Abby's eyes widened, and Stringer mentally consigned his fellow captain to the deepest pits of hell as he shrugged and grinned. "He's not wrong. Would you have coffee with me some day?"

Her infectious giggle delighted him. "I'd be glad to."

Today was turning out to be a pretty good day. Creature saved, predator sent on its way with its tail metaphorically between its legs, and a date made with a lovely bronze. Definitely one for the plus column.

.


End file.
